The qualifier, who reached his first grand slam main draw, faces ninth seed Andrey Rublev in the opening round

At just 18, João Fonseca is putting the tennis world on notice, as illustrated by his clinical straight-sets victory over ninth seed Andrey Rublev at the Australian Open.

Fonseca was part of the 2024 lineup alongside Fils and Luca Van Assche of France; Michelsen, eventual finalist Learner Tien and Nishesh Basavareddy of the U.S.; Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic and Shang Juncheng of China, who also goes by his Americanized name, Jerry Shang.

Endless queues outside Melbourne Park's 1573 Arena on a sunny Thursday afternoon gave casual fans the impression that a Grand Slam champion was in action, but a quick peek inside revealed the carnival atmosphere and explained the interest.

Teenage rising star Joao Fonseca said nerves got the better of him after being bundled out of the Australian Open by Italian Lorenzo Sonego in a five-set thriller on Thursday.